Origin and Objectives of the DPEIS The draft programmatic environmental impact statement (DPEIS), Impacts of Artificial Salmon and Steelhead Production Strategies in the Columbia River Basin, was prepared by the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in order to assess the current use of artificial production and to assess how well artificial production has met the objectives for which it was established (p. 6; DPEIS). Another stated impetus for developing the DPEIS was the issue of genetic protection for naturally producing stocks of salmon and steelhead and concerns that interactions with hatchery produced fish might be eroding the long-term fitness of naturally spawning stocks (p 21; DPEIS). Finally, the DPEIS, which recognizes that current fisheries management focuses primarily on artificial production to meet harvest needs (p. 7; DPEIS), attempts to provide guidance on whether, and in what direction, to modify present artificial production programs in the Columbia River Basin.
